Persona 4: Adachi
by Bint-Lilith
Summary: Warning: Contains major spoilers! Basically this is Persona 4 from Adachi's point of view. After finishing the game the first time I was so intrigued by that character, that writing this fanfiction occured to me in an instant.
1. Chapter 1 : Ignominy and Murder

Chapter I – Ignominy and Murder

Conspicuous behavior had been the ridiculous reason why Adachi Tohru was transferred to the rural town of Inaba. He was still fretting about his former colleagues who denounced him because of some bagatelle.  
Adachi was stuck there now for several months and he was bored to death with it.  
The police station was a joke. He used to live in a big city and thus he was not accustomed in seeing the same faces daily and exposing petty shoplifts and minor traffic accidents as a detective. It checkmated him.  
The man he was assigned to work with was called Dojima Ryotaro and ever since the first day he treated Adachi as a raw recruit. So he indulged himself to deal with him haphazardly.

The affair of the local newscaster Yamano Mayumi with the council secretary Namatame Taro, husband of a popular enkasinger, had caused a commotion in rainy Inaba as soon as the rumors were published by the gossiping newspapers. Just like her lover Miss Yamano was made redundant immediately and lost her reputation, although she gained popularity considering the TV ratings.  
Briefly after her affair got abroad, the young woman left for her original hometown Inaba, spending somedays in the Amagi Inn.  
Yamano Mayumi had already caught Adachi's eye through the TV. She had a delicate yet female face. The short haircut gave her face a refreshing, maidenly impression. Her movements were gracefully and elegant.  
One afternoon he had seen her coincidentally in the inner city and his interest in her had grown even stronger. He found out that the woman rested in the Amagi and decided to forge out a plan. He would take advantage of his position and tell her, that he was instructed by the police station to safeguard her from sensationalist paparazzi.  
The Amagi was a traditional inn and the city's pride and joy. It had also the popular hot springs and Adachi wondered whether he could accomplish it to cast a glance at Yamano-san, if she considered to take a bath.  
Once arrived at the inn he requested the receptionist to call Yamano-san downstairs. Proud of his privilege to afford nearly anything as a detective he sat impatiently on the couch in the lobby and waited for the young woman.  
Her full lips had brought indecent thoughts into his mind right off when he saw her the first time and now he sat there, continuing those thoughts. In his mind's eye he started seducing Yamano-san, undressed the bridling in pretence, touched between her thighs… What was it Yamano-san wanted from that idiot Namatame? Adachi had seen his picture in TV and could not understand, what her interest in him was. He was jealous and due to his fantasies his sexual arousal had grown even more. Certainly the damsel would not withstand him. It would not matter if she did not obey him, indeed. It would not be the first time to oblige a woman having sex with him anyway.  
Soon after, Yamano Mayumi arrived somewhat baffled downstairs and Adachi led the woman to a separated part of the lobby, where he could stay undisturbed with her. Merely a large TV and a couch were located in that room.  
»Did anything happen? I was told that you are a policeman. Do you want anything from me?«  
The expression of her suspecting eyes, her barely opened mouth with the red, beautiful lips and her gentle frown enraptured Adachi. He approached her and got ready to grab her shoulders.  
»It's not true what they're saying on the news, is it? That you have something going on with that Namatame.«  
»What the… What's it to you? That's none of your business!«  
Yamano backed off towards the TV.  
»What's wrong? Don't tell me, that Namatame can have it off with you. That it's true, what everyone's saying.«  
Yamano looked at him horrified. She was rigid with fear. Adachi bent over her, clasped her breast and whispered: »Admit that you go for it, you slut! You're just another worthless bitch like all the others.«  
Instantly her short rigor came off. She thrusted his hand aside and cried: »Don't you touch me, you scum!«, her voice was strident. She started striking at Adachi and unknowingly stepped back at the same time.  
Suddenly his expression changed. He was offended and felt sore. What was Yamano's problem?  
»Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I will teach you the meaning of fear!«, he pushed her enraged and suddenly she disappeared inside the TV.  
The young detective looked puzzled at the dark screen through which Yamano Mayumi vanished a few seconds ago. Then he started laughing and remembered. A couple of weeks ago he had accidentally touched the screen of his TV, when suddenly his hand was stuck inside the TV. The screen began flickering and formed waves. It was not hard anymore, no more vitreous. It was like diving into water. No, into a higher viscosity but into something lighter the same time. He could not explain it to himself, since he did not understand it either. Eventually he had pulled his hand back and started wondering what kind of power that was, whether his TV was some type of threshold; a portal into an otherworld like in those fantasy films.  
So this gift worked with other TVs, as well. He was surprised that he could put an entire person inside and asked himself what might have happened to Yamano; where she was and if she was, at all.  
Ere he raised suspicion concerning Yamano's whereabouts he quickly left the Amagi and walked home buried in thought.  
The moment he reached his place he sat in front of the TV without turning on the light and wondered, if there was a possibility to see Yamano somewhere. He stared at the dark screen. Nothing. He skipped through all channels. No conspicuities. He grasped inside the TV, put his head in it, yet saw nothing but vast, empty room.  
He lay back disappointed, his curiosity unsatisfied. He looked outside the window into the gloom sighing. The rain pattered and fog began to involve the town. The digital watch displayed four red zeros. Midnight. Adachi recalled the witless legend of the Mayonaka TV, which somebody had told him shortly after his arrival in Inaba. It rained, it was midnight, his TV switched off. Perhaps his soulmate would appear now.  
He tried to chase the lunatic thoughts away with laughter, when a strange noise sounded. The TV emitted a green light and Adachi could make out the outlines of a female frame.  
»Impossible…«  
He rushed to the TV and tried to identify the figure. Then the picture became clear. It was Yamano Mayumi. She was sitting in a room, probably a bedroom. In the centre of the room there was a chair, above it hung a noose. The walls were full of posters from a person, whose face was cut out clumsily.  
Yamano was kneeling on the ground, stabbing one of the posters with a scissor in a frenzy. All of a sudden she looked terrified into the camera. Her body began writhing in an odd way, as if she was anguished. Shrieking she pressed her hands on her head. The spasms became fiercer. The shrilly screams made Adachi's flesh crawl. He averted his gaze. The newscaster fell silent. The TV screen was black as usual. Adachi waited a while longer but Yamano did not return.

The next morning Adachi was awakened by his phone. It was Dojima who commanded him to come to the police station immediately, since a female dead body was found in the town centre. A corpse signified finally a bit of joy within the emptiness of this wasteland, hence Adachi started out delighted.  
The female body belonged to Yamano Mayumi. She was hanging upside down at a television antenna.  
»Who the hell would drag a body up there? And unnoticed, too!«, Dojima asked himself aghast and left the wondering Adachi behind as he diverged from the crime scene.  
Open-mouthed Adachi stared at the corpse on top of the roof. Her exposed thighs, her shocked expression, her white skin. He struggled to carry it off well. Nausea paired with euphoria and scare spread inside of him. He left the site running and vomited into a bed of flowers at the intersection.  
»Adachi, you idiot!« Dojima snarled at him. »Stop behaving like a rookie or I'll send you back to the station!«  
Dojima was standing with three adolescents who had just passed by. A boy with weird grey hair and two girls. One with short hair and a second, prettier and charming. Dojima appeared to know them.  
»My apologies, Dojima-san.«  
»Wash yourself and get a grip! There's still work to be done here «, sighing he replied to his younger assistant and returned to the crime scene. Adachi waited a little more until his stomach had calmed down and the adolescents were inspected enough. He wondered why he got sick all of a sudden. It was not the sight of the body, but rather the astonishment. Presumably being pushed inside the TV meant death for a human. But why was the dead here and not in the otherworld? Perhaps she had escaped somehow and during her way back to the Amagi she became a random crime victim. Adachi had no answer for his questions. He had to try it out again and await the outcome.

The next evening the local news broadcasted an interview with the schoolgirl, who discovered Yamano Mayumi's body first. For the purpose of anonymity the girl's voice and face were distorted. Still Adachi knew due to his work, that the girl was named Konishi Saki. Konishi had left school earlier that day – she probably had skipped classes – and on her way home she spotted the miserable newscaster. Konishi Saki was a liquid store owner's daughter. Their shop was located in the midtown, wherefore the murder scene was part of her way home.  
Adachi had sought the next day to interrogate the girl. Of course it was a mere routine questioning, but it was possible, that the girl knew something, that could bring him into trouble, particularly as he had seen her the same day with Namatame at the Samegawa riverbank. That Namatame began to enervate him.  
So Adachi was alone in the room with this very young school girl and he could not help but feel superior, since there was a TV in this room, as well. She was young, but mature the same time. This was partake of these youths. She was seventeen or eighteen, technically an adult. But other than Yamano, Konishi still possessed this beguiling innocence.  
After he had asked her a number of mandatory questions, Adachi began examining the pupil. She had shoulder-length, wavy light brown her. Another habit of those youths, bleaching their hair. Her eyebrows were plucked overdone, the outer part was missing completely. But it gave her countenance something quaint.  
Yamano had pricked Adachi's pride and now he wanted to prove himself with this girl's aid. In any case those unscrupulous youngsters were easier to get around, than frigid, adulterous trulls.  
»I saw you today with Namatame. You seemed to get along with him quite well.«  
He walked towards her and by the time he grabbed her by the arms, Saki broke away and slapped his face.  
»Oh, I'm not good enough for you, huh? Well, I'll make you pay now.«  
»N-no, let go of me,« Saki pleaded almost wailingly. Her eyes filled with tears. The panic written in her face aroused Adachi even more. He grabbed her once again, led her to the TV and pushed her inside. The girl was lighter and smaller. He could lift her and put her through the tiny TV.  
Adachi was furious that this trollop had scorned him, as well. That Namatame was a hot shot in the city council and probably earned an immense amount of money. This greedy female certainly was on the make, just like that news caster. Both had not deserved it better. What Adachi had done with Konishi and Yamano, was his vengeance. Vengeance for that he had ended up in that wretched town. In fact he should belong to the best now, this is way he had learned and studied his whole life. Instead he was here. But now he had this gift. This gift would free him from his boredom and fulfill him at last.  
Once again he went to the TV and put in his head. Even though he looked into blackness as before, he still shouted: »Kneel down and beg for salvation! I might take pity on you«, he pulled back laughing. As if that would ever happen. As if he would miss out on the fun. If this time this girl's body would be found, then it would be sealed. Then Adachi possessed the power to dominate deliberately over human lifes. But it was dangerous. Nobody had suspected him regarding Yamano so far and nobody had asked him what happened to Konishi after the interrogation. He had told the other investigators, that he had dismissed her commonly and had continued doing the paperwork. But when he kept spiriting away persons and anybody connected him with the victims eventually, he would not only lose his current job. But he could not just stop either or else all the fun would come to an end. He could not stop, not after he was the one bestowed with this gift. Alas! What a dilemma this was!  
He began to cogitate over a solution to his quandary while he was waiting for the Mayonaka TV. It rained again, like the nights before and like back then with Yamano, a picture appeared on the screen around midnight.  
Adachi recognized a beverage vending machine. He realized that the store was the liquid store that belonged to the Konishi family. Then Saki showed up. It seemed as if she was dancing. She went round in circles, jumped up and down and eventually she began to squirm with pain. Pleased Adachi gave a laugh. Everything went according to the plan. Bright and early this girl's body would also be discovered.  
And so it was. Unlike Yamano Mayumi, Konishi hung upside down from a telephone pole. Whereas discontent expanded at the police station, for the suspicion of a serial killer came up, Adachi was the more euphoric. It was confirmed. The TV could kill humans. Adachi could take life away, without soiling his own hands. He did not see himself as a murderer, after all he was not killing the persons. Something inside the TV was it that killed.  
The coroners could not determine the cause of death. Neither with Yamano, nor with Konishi. It was no strangulation, no poisoning. The bodies were taken to the places where they were found post mortem. There were no noticeable evidences on the corpses. The forensic scientist could not make out any foreign DNA or any external forceful impact. Medically it was not even clear, whether the women were murdered or died a natural death. Furthermore it was uncertain who could have transported the bodies after the time of death to such a high place.  
Not only did the police worry, but the whole city was in an uproar. The media spread more dread and Adachi was the more ravished. It was his own achievement that everything happened. He was the one who had caused the fear within every single citizen. What a pleasure it was, what a bliss. Nevertheless the anxiety of being caught still existed inside of him. Something had to occur to him, that combined his security with his delectation.  
He had thought long, when the phone rang suddenly and disrupted his cogitations. Nightfall had already come but Adachi was still at the police station. Due to the murders the police men were busy and hourly persons who fancied themselves as the murderer or reckoned to know the murderer called. This call would certainly be another prank like those before.  
»Police station Inaba. Adachi Tohru speaking«, he answered bored.  
»Good evening. My name is Namatame Taro.«  
Adachi startled up. Namatame? The same Namatame who was related to the two dead?  
»I have a concern regarding the murders«, the voice at the other end of the phone sounded exhausted and desperate. »I know it sounds insane, but I have this suspicion, that as soon as a citizen of Inaba is seen on TV, for instance on the news, he disappears and appears on Mayonaka TV the night afterwards. It's this urban legend, but it is true, indeed! Both Mayumi and that girl appeared on that screen! And both died! I spoke with her but she didn't listen… There must be some kind of connection between the TV and the disappeared ones. And now I'm seeing this girl in a pink kimono on the screen. She was in the news today. It's the same again. You have to save her, it is your duty! I beg you!«  
Adachi narrowed his eyes. It dismayed and consternated him that Namatame had knowledge of the Mayonaka TV and moreover seemed to follow the channel. This would mean, that others had access to the channel, as well. Then again it would mean, that the strange otherworld would be open to the public and the panic in Inaba would be maximized soon. But so far no other witnesses of the Mayonaka TV besides Namatame had entered the stage.  
»Namatame-san, this is… Well… Ridiculous. I'm sure you've been through quite a lot these days, so your fantasy's acting up«, suddenly an idea crossed Adachi's mind. »It sounds interesting though, y'know. You want to save her, huh? That so sounds like a messiah-complex!«, Adachi laughed. »Have you ever heard of that? But maybe only you can save those people, indeed. Shelter, Sanctuary… In another world maybe? Why don't you just try? You could try to hide them somewhere. Somewhere where no one could find them. A place nobody would think of. By all means, I'm busy. Good evening,« Adachi hung up and hoped that his allusions would be successful. Perhaps he would be so lucky that Namatame had the idea to put the persons into a TV himself. Hard to believe what a foreordination this was. Of all the staff members it was he who picked up Namatame's despaired call. It was ludicrous. Namatame the savior. The good thing's advocate. How amusing!  
The probability that Namatame had the idea with the TV was low. First of all he had to own Adachi's gift as well and had to know about the whole otherworld, since there was no other logical reason for a man to put women into televisions. But who knows?  
Once more Adachi had to wait and hope that the things would turn to his benefit.


	2. Chapter 2 : Vengefulness and Retaliation

Chapter II – Vengefulness and Retaliation

In the evening further investigation was made at the place where Konishi's body was found. While the police men puzzled over the crime and kept searching for evidences, Adachi continuously thought of last night's phone call with Namatame. Namatame had spoken of a girl in a pink kimono. According to him she had appeared in the Mayonaka TV. Thus she should be already in the TV world. There was no body found on that morning though. Possibly she was still alive. Adachi decided to pay attention to the TV at midnight this time, as well, since it would rain again.  
»Bloody hell!«, Dojima disrupted Adachi's thoughts. Since the first body's discovery Dojima had digged into the case and investigated like one possessed. It was also due to him that the police men had gathered there in the pouring rain. Dojima's action was probably the desperate attempt of proving his own abilities.  
»Seems like there's nothing else to find here. And we still have no evidence which could lead us to a suspect«, Adachi hoped that his superior would cancel the ridiculous operation soon. After all he did not want to miss the kimono girl.  
»Hmph. We're not even sure if this is actually a murder case.«  
»Pardon me?«, Adachi responded to Dojima's words perplexed. What else other than homicide could it have been? Was Dojima that stupid?  
»Dojima-san. Unlikely it was an accident. And coincidentally one after the other. Logically suicide can't come into question either. Besides… «  
»I know, alright? But we still don't have the first corpse's cause of death yet we have a second one dead!«  
»What about that love triangle?«  
»That's what we all thought at first. But both Hiiragi and Namatame have an airtight alibi. 'Sides, it was Hiiragi herself who had exposed her husband's affair with that newscaster. She would have digged her own grave, if she was the killer.«  
»True… Did you hear yet? Namatame got fired in an instant! His fate was almost as miserable as poor Yamano's«, with feigned pity he glanced aside. Dojima had not the faintest clue that he was talking to the murder's initiator. He did not guess that his ever so useless partner had attempted to rape Yamano Mayumi and instead took pleasure in her death. No one would ever strike on the idea, that behind the facade of the cheerful and silly Adachi, existed an utterly different person. No one knew what was truly going on inside of him. How he imagined his fellow human beings' heads exploding every time he was passing the mall; how he thought continually that he would someday wreak vengeance upon those who used to laugh at him all along.  
The look alone of the two men standing in the rain. Dojima with his black umbrella, with serious and sullen expression, as if he was carrying a heavy burden. Next to him Adachi with the white umbrella encased in innocence. An allegory of his play.  
»I just don't get the relationship between those murders. What had Konishi to do with Yamano, except that she found the body? I doubt that her death served to silence her. Apart from that the only link would be that she visited the same school as the daughter of the inn Yamano stayed in.«  
»What if there was actually something, only Konishi would know? And that's why she had to… Disappear from the screen, before it came to light!«  
»What are you rambling on? …Whatever. There's nothing left than continuing the investigation. The perp, he must come from Inaba!«  
»Oh, is that what you call detective intuition?«, Adachi could not bite back the sarcastic comment. Dojima's deduction were just too naive. Angrily Dojima started railing at him, whereupon Adachi laughed and acted wistfully. It was too easy. Adachi knew, that he had already achieved everyone's sympathy with his deception.

Just as the midnight hour had arrived, another person appeared in the Mayonaka TV for real. It was a girl with long black hair, wearing a pink ball gown. She was helding a microphone and it seemed, as if she was presenting some kind of low-budget show. Upon closer examination Adachi recognized the girl. It was the pretty school girl, who was together with Dojima's nephew – how it turned out to be later – present at the time when Yamano's body was found. She was in the TV world, but Adachi had not put her inside. Had Namatame against all expectations actually pushed the girl inside? Adachi broke out laughing almost hysterically. His little, subtle reference had in all seriousness prevailed Namatame upon handing over persons to death. But why did Namatame also possess that gift, of which Adachi thought, that it was destined only for him? He felt the sting of jealousy, but at the same moment he saw the advantage. The young detective could keep having his fun without getting into any trouble. Namatame was doing the dirty work. Adachi had killed two birds with one stone. For now he could lean back and literally enjoy the show.  
The girl bent over. The camera showed a close-up of her décolleté. She played with her female charms while talking about her Prince Charming. _Such a little slut._ What kind of lunatic show was that anyway and who was filming it? Who gave the girl the instructions to present the show? In big letters her name appeared: _Amagi Yukiko_. By any chance the Amagi inn daughter of which Dojima had spoken? Since the daughter of the Amagi's was about the same age, they had to be one and the same person! Namatame had mentioned that whoever appeared in the local news was the next victim. Was the TV picking out the victims? But was it not Adachi himself who had pushed in Yamano and Konishi, regrdless of whether they were seen on TV or not. Was there truly a connection? Perhaps had Adachi pushed by pure chance those two persons inside, who were chosen by the Mayonaka TV. So many questions unanswered. Be that as it may. The fact was, that Namatame thought he would save humans, by throwing them into the TV world. If Adachi was lucky enough, Namatame would continue bringing involuntarily disaster on humans while the detective had his fun.  
The girl turned around and ran into a castle. With that the TV show ended and the screen became dark again. Adachi chuckled and was filled with anticipation. He envied Namatame a little, for he was allowed to touch this young, pretty girl this time. The young detective thought of places, where the belle would soon hang upside down. Perhaps on her school's roof or on a tree. He could hardly wait for the surprise.

Oddly Amagi Yukiko was not dead the next morning either. She was vanished though and her relatives had by that time reported her missing. Anew panic set forth at the police station and although it was Sunday, everyone thought of his work. The suspicion that they were dealing with a serial killer was heightened. Adachi too furrowed his brows full of sorrows. But his cares had different causes. Contrary to his colleagues he pondered on why there was no further body found yet and what Namatame could have done wrong. Since it would not rain the following night, there would be no show either. Desperately the police men at the station were searching for the murderer's pattern while Adachi thought about connections between the TV world and his own. He tried to comprehend why Amagi's body did not surface yet, why she was possibly still alive, whereas Konishi and Yamano had died the same week they vanished. At last Adachi linked the incidents with the nocturnal rain. It had rained less than in the past weeks when the women's death had occured.  
Adachi recalled the movie from the past night, he had watched halfheartedly after Amagi's weird show. It was a gloomy film about a murderer placed in the Victorian era. The shrill screams of one victim had eventually caught Adachi's attention. A female corpse floated in the Thames. Her dead-white skin formed a contrast to the ubiquitous murkiness which menaced to absorb the whole scenario. All places seemed wet and cold and were wreathed in terrifying mist. It was a film to Adachi's liking. The young man wondered whether Britain was truly as foggy as shown in those movies. Fog. Abruptly the idea of connecting the murder cases with the fog crossed his mind. Had it not been foggy on those two mornings, as well? He remembered the weather forecast talking about an unusual thick fog which had only appeared at that week and had disappeared again.  
Hasty Adachi booted up the computer in his office to look up Inaba's weather forecast on the internet. On April 29th the fog would set in again. Thus – if he was right with his delicate assumption – the body was to be expected in two weeks. Was the girl Yukiko still alive within the otherworld, or perhaps was she already dead?  
At lunch break Adachi joined the colleagues, among them Dojima, who had gathered in the smoking room and out of the blue made mention of the fog: »Well, it's just an idea, but has anybody already noticed, that these two mornings when the bodies were found, were uncommonly foggy?«  
Dojima almost choked on his coffee and looked at his younger partner wide-eyed. »Is that true? Do you think there's a connection? Oh Adachi, this is good! Hey, you there! Quick, record this!«  
Mischievously Adachi grinned and lit triumphantly a cigarette, as well.

Several hours had passed and Adachi's assumption had not only been acknowledged, but was seriously taken into consideration. But Dojima had apparently forgot, from whom the guess had come from and continued treating Adachi as his assisting slave. It was already the third cup of coffee he had to make for and bring Dojima. He had resigned sighing and hurriedly got down to work. As Adachi intended to bring the coffee into Dojima's office, he saw him reprimanding two male students. He had stopped abruptly in order to observe the three at a distance and thereby had spilled hot coffee over his hand. Stoically he hid the pain and approached the students, as soon as Dojima had finished and left. He had recognized one of the boys as Dojima's nephew Souji.  
»Oh, sorry! Hey, aren't you Dojima's nephew?«  
»Could we ask you something?«, the other one answered instead. He had light brown hair – what was it those youths enjoyed in bleaching their hair? – and wore big, read headphones. Dojima's nephew had just like Dojima grayish hair. Perhaps the men in their family aged prematurely. In any case it looked somehow strange.  
»It's about Amagi-san. Did something happen to her? You know, we're her friends and we're worried.«  
»If I'm allowed to speak on that?«, Adachi weighed up the pros and cons. Basically it was all the same to him if he revealed details to civilists and thus breached of secrecy. Nevertheless, telling those two boys more than allowed, precisely because it was his older partner's nephew, seemed alluring to him.  
»Don't tell anybody, but we got a call from Amagi's parents yesterday, telling us their daughter couldn't be found. Due to the weekend, there was quite a lot to do in the inn, so at first their daughter's absence didn't make them conspicuous. Of course this doesn't mean this girl has something in common with the murders. As a matter of fact, dead appear on foggy mornings and we guardians of the law got sensitive. By the way, the girl didn't happen to mention that she's experiencing hard times, did she? That newscaster Yamano had stayed in the inn, too. However, for unknown reasons she had complained to the manager, miss Yukiko's mother. Her mother collapsed and that filled miss Yukiko with so much indignation… We policemen had a faint suspicion… Oh no! I said too much! I can't stop myself when it comes to work…«  
»Adachi! What the hell are you chitchatting with civilists? And where is my coffee!?«, Dojima's voice sounded furious from his working place.  
»Forgive me, Dojima-san! I'm on my way!«, Adachi acted slight consternation and looked pleading at the two youths. »Please, forget what I told you, okay?«, he left the two of them behind and hurried almost in panic to Dojima.

On the morning of April 22nd a phone call came in at the police station, informing that Amagi Yukiko was found unscathed the previous evening. Adachi was shocked. How was this possible? Had he not seen her in the TV? Doubtless it had been the same person, for together with the missing person report, a picture of the girl had been submitted. Namatame could not have found actually a way to save the girl. This would be atrocious! In the end Namatame came to think he was the Messiah, indeed. But something regarding the disappearance of this girl had been different from the first two. Leaving aside the fact, that the fog had both times set in on the subsequent morning, whereas in Yukiko's case with a distance of three weeks, Yukiko had had this peculiar show which the others had not. Could the show have something to do with it? Perhaps Adachi had to take over the reins again, or maybe he should try to contact Namatame and gather information by asking him subtle questions. No. He decided to remain patient for the time being and to wait and see how things would develop. Surely the Mayonaka TV would find a new victim. Next time, when it rained again.  
Nervous and uneasy as he was, Adachi had not noticed how he had started to bite his fingernails. In order to distract himself from doing that, he took a ball pen and began drafting on a paper. Some geometrical figures at first, then a naked woman's body. But he was discontent and scratched mad through his drawing. Again and Again until it was no more recognizable and the paper was torn.  
»Hey, Adachi! What are you doing there?«, Dojima interrupted the young detective's trance and scared him so much, that he pushed some filing folders from the desk.  
»Man, what's the matter with you?«  
»Oh, Dojima-san. I beg you pardon. I was kinda abstracted…«  
»Come on. I've already told you to leave that formal address aside. After all we work together day in, day out on this goddamn case. What was it you were thinking about? That paradoxically nothing happened to that Amagi girl? Incidentally the fog point was really good. But don't get all worked up about that case, got it?«  
_Oh, god. He knows. Dojima suspects me. _Adachi attempted as effectively as possible to dissemble his nascent panic. If this fool Dojima was actually sensing anything, his whole plan would go down the tubes. Under no circumstances was anything allowed to go wrong. If he lost this position as well, he could never return to the city. In addition he did not want to lose his witless job, since it reflected the only possibility, to live out his fantasies, at least roughly.  
»Amagi Yukiko is in for interrogation. What you waiting for?«  
»What? She's here? Yeah, just a moment. I'm coming«, hastily he picked up the scattered folders, straightened his collar halfway and followed Dojima.

Amagi Yukiko sat in the same room, in which Adachi had questioned Konishi back then. Unconsciously his eyes wandered again and again between the exhausted looking girl and the TV in the corner behind her.  
Insecure the black haired girl sat on her chair, the hands folded in her lap, chewing on her lower lip. The rich red of her cardigan flattered delightsome her pale skin and seemed tailor-made for her red lips. Even her name was perfect. _Yukiko_. _Snowchild_. Indeed she resembled Snow White a little. With innocent expression she looked on the ground, but Adachi had seen her. He had seen, what she was truly wishing for. With utmost pleasure he would have given it to her. And how much would he have loved to see her dead. His thoughts aroused him.  
»Aren't you feeling well, Amagi-san?«  
»Yes, I do. Thank you. I'm just feeling a little languid… «  
»No surprise. After being absent for days and additional loss of memory. And you don't remember anything? Not anyone who might have kidnapped you? Or maybe the place where you were taken to? Maybe a small detail, which could help us on.«  
She shook her head no. »As I've already explained to you, I only remember that it was evening and I was at the inn. From then on my memory gets hazy.«  
It was hopeless. She did not make mention of a TV world, her Prince Charming or Namatame Taro. Adachi could not confront her with anything either, since it would be too suspicious. By all appearance she truly could not remember anything. This otherworld was strange indeed.  
»Let's drop that«, Head-shaking Dojima took a pull on his cigarette. »You're dismissed. Your parents are waiting for you in the entrance hall. If we have any further questions, we will contact you.«  
»Thank you, sirs«, Yukiko bowed slightly. What hypocritical courtesy. Or was this just the way she was raised? A silent, traditional beauty with secret, indecent thoughts. »I'm sorry I couldn't help you«, timidly she thanked Adachi who opened her the door and left.  
»You're here without your car, aren't you? I can take you with me, if you want. Let's stop at my place, to drink a toast that Amagi's safe and sound and no other body appeared until now.«  
»Huh? Er… Sure, Dojima-san. I'd love to get to know your daughter. And your nephew too seemed likable to me.«  
»What? Hands off my daughter! And please stop this '-san' –thing already, goddamn it!«, Adachi grinned sheepishly and jauntily laughing the two of them went to Dojima's car. Obviously Adachi had jumped to conclusions and the odds were not against him yet. He became paranoid already. Still he had to stay on guard and was determined to keep observing and let Namatame act out. Instead he would keep working on the relationships with his colleagues, first of all with his older partner Dojima, for it seemed he had acquired a liking for Adachi. Nevertheless being so cautious frustrated him. He hated that town in which every single step of his was known. In the city, from which he was originally, were admittedly millions of humans around him, still it was different there. Although one was surrounded by so many, he was still alone, since everybody was a stranger. But in a small town like Inaba everybody knew one another. Adachi had to preserve the facade steadily and play his role with diligence. Contrary to a social sterile city, he could never be himself. What was that really? The so-called _self_? The _ego_? Adachi could never live his true ego, after all humans like him were proscribed in a society like this. If he actually intended to continue his pathetic life, he unfailingly had to be anxious to hide. It was awful. Pointless. But now there were these homicide cases and it was as if he would live for the very first time. The Mayonaka TV suddenly gave a meaning to his existence. Therefore he saw the incidents as his retaliation. As if a higher entity had given him the possibility to avenge all the years of anguish and pain. But then this girl Yukiko was found alive and once again the wrath started to bottle up.  
»Here we are,« since Adachi had contemplated so intensely, he had not noticed how Dojima had already covered the distance and had listened uninterested to him raving of his daughter or cursing any radio station.  
Ryotaro Dojima lived in a Japanese-style one family house with a garden and a neat daughter. He was exactly one of these persons, who would consider Adachi as scum. Whereas Adachi had heard that Dojima was widowed. He granted him this fact, that made a crack in the family man's perfect life. Adachi did not really know the reason why, but he both hated and envied Dojima.  
» Crap! We should have bought food on the way. Well, maybe Nanako has cooked something…«  
»Your daughter cooks? How old did you say she is? Seven?«  
»Daddy's back! «, the little girl with the dark braids dashed against the two men and stopped abruptly, as soon as she had spotted Adachi. The displeasure was written in her face. Adachi was enervated.  
»Hello, little one!«, he greeted her as indulgent as possible. »I'm Adachi Tohru. Your father's slave at work since last month.«  
»You're welcome to take on more if you see it that way.«  
»Haha! Good one! Haha… Ah! I almost forgot!«, Adachi looked at Souji, Dojima's nephew. »Hadn't you brought up that you're friends with Amagi Yukiko? She was found safe yesterday! That's good news, isn't it?«  
»Yes. What a relief«, the boy replied dry-witted. Adachi frowned in confusion. The student radiated such a self-confidence that it confounded Adachi. He acted as if that information was an implicitness.  
»Yes, it is! That doesn't mean though the case is over yet. We had questioned Miss Amagi earlier, but allegedly she can't recall anything, regarding the time of her absence. We have no plan where she had been until now. As if she was vanished completely! Pretty strange if you ask me… There's something… Ouch!«, Dojima interrupted Adachi's monologue with a clout.  
»Stop blathering, you buffoon!«  
»I'm sorry!«  
»Just ignore him. He's fantasizing.«  
»Do you suspect, Yukiko?«, Souji piped up again. Adachi's reference had apparently availed. It would not hurt him anyway, if outsiders were suspected instead of him.  
»Don't worry«, Dojima replied. »Police men aren't some idiots taking any rumor at face value. These are only his soliloquies. Nothing serious.«  
_ My ass! __You all are merely a bunch of idiots_, he thought glaring at Dojima's back of the head.  
»I'm hungry!«, Nanako tossed in finally.  
»Sorry. Of course. My stomach's growling too already.«  
»Aha! So you do have pleasant traits towards Nanako-chan.«  
»Shut it and sit down!«  
After all the evening ended up to become interesting and amusing. By now Adachi had started getting accustomed to the person he was miming. He even had fun doing so. At any rate a personality like this was optimal, in order to gain other's affection. Everything promised to develop into a funny game.


End file.
